


Dying Was The Beginning

by Elayna



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), No Fandom
Genre: First Time, Ghosts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-30
Updated: 2011-10-30
Packaged: 2017-10-25 02:54:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/270947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elayna/pseuds/Elayna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Almost dying changes Danny's life more than he'd ever thought possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dying Was The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Very loosely inspired by The Frighteners, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Michael J. Fox.  
> This fic ended up skirting around religion a fair amount, which is odd as I'm not a religious person. So many aspects may be religiously incorrect or irreverent.  
> 

Dying young was always a possibility for a cop, although Danny intended to avoid that fate. He had a beautiful daughter who he wanted to watch grow into a teenager and then into a woman. Heck, preferably into a mom and ultimately a grandma. Being a granddad and great-granddad would rock. The prospect of being old and retired and taking his grandkids to the zoo or teaching them how to be wicked poker players definitely appealed.

Despite his lamenting about Steve's crazy ways, he'd never truly thought his partner would be the death of him. Steve was reckless and fearless, but he was the best partner to have in a firefight, with fast reflexes, accurate aim, and an excellent brain for strategizing.

But here Danny was, bleeding out from the gut, pressing on the bullet wounds as if sheer will could keep his blood from flowing out of his body.

Steve ran up, knelt by him, face frantic with worry, as he placed his hands on top of Danny's, like their combined power would stop the bleeding. "Danny, I've called for an ambulance. Just hang on, buddy. Hang on."

"Steve." Danny caught Steve's hands, tangling their bloody fingers together. "Take care of Gracie."

"We'll take care of her together. I can't lose you, Danny, I can't."

Danny knew Steve regarded him as a close friend, but he was still surprised at the level of Steve's despair. His handsome face was distraught with fear and worry, his tone emphatic and stressed. Would Steve care this much about any partner, co-worker, or could it mean more? And if it did, why had Danny never seen it before, never been brave enough to take the risk? This was his last chance to say what he'd yearned to confess. "Steve, I love you."

"Danno." Steve's face had a new expression that Danny had never seen, like he was torn between despair and delight. At least he wasn't recoiling from Danny's declaration. "Don't do this. You're not going to die."

Danny wanted to agree with him. He didn't want to die. But he didn't have any say in this matter. Some two-bit punk had made that choice for him, denying him the chance to see his daughter grow up, to know if Steve would ever love him back. As his eyes fluttered shut and unconsciousness took him, he thought he heard Steve say, "I love you too, Danno. Don't die on me. Don't. I love you."

~~~~

He was alive. He hurt like hell, no dosage of drugs able to completely mask the intensity of pain caused by healing muscles and intestines, but he was still alive. At least, he hoped Heaven wasn't being in a hospital bed, with multiple tubes hooked to him, one in a very uncomfortable place, and wearing one of those embarrassing gowns.

Of course, he could have ended up in Hell. He'd tried to be a good man and father, but he'd both coveted another man's wife and lusted after his male partner, acts that he was pretty sure the Big Guy tended to find objectionable.

Still, a hospital room seemed tame compared to fire and brimstone, so maybe he had made it back to the mortal world.

Struggling to raise his head, he saw Steve slumped in a visitor's chair, sleeping in a way that would give him a crick in his neck. His face was drawn and strained, like his nap was haunted by nightmares.

There was another guy in the room, standing by the window, staring out at the view, but Danny didn't recognize him.

"Steve," he said, as loud as he could with a dry mouth. Alive. He was alive. Reality began to sink in. He'd still be able to watch Grace grow up, see her turn into a wonderful, caring adult.

Steve jerked, woke, and was instantly leaning forward. "Danny. You're awake."

"Yeah." He was alive to find out what Steve thought of his declaration of love, alive to find out if Steve had actually said he loved Danny too, or if the words had been the delusion of a dying brain.

Hearing the roughness of Danny's voice, Steve picked up a cup of ice chips, spooning some into his mouth. "You scared us, Danny. It was close. Too close."

"I'll try to get less shot next time," he rumbled around the ice chips, blessing the cool water moistening his mouth. Steve's expression sharpened, like he hadn't found Danny's comment funny. "Kono and Chin?" Danny added, because he'd lost track of them with all the bullets whizzing around.

"They're both fine. They were here, but the hospital only allows one visitor at a time, so they've gone home to sleep. I talked to Rachel and we agreed Grace should see you when you've recovered a bit."

"Yeah. I don't want to scare her." His little girl had already visited him once in the hospital, when he'd been stricken with Sarin. He'd hated that she'd been worried for him, but his commitment to protecting his family and his community was too ingrained to quit his job.

"You scared all of us, Danny. You scared me. You were-- " Steve abruptly stopped talking and spooned more chips in Danny's mouth. He looked afraid, like it hadn't sunk in yet that Danny had survived.

"I don't blame you," Danny said, thinking of the number of times he'd complained Steve would be the death of him. "You actually followed procedures for once. Shit happens."

"You were dead, Danny. They had to revive you."

"You should bring the ER staff a box of malasadas for me. Have them put it on my tab."

That suggestion made Steve smile. "I will, Danny. A dozen boxes of malasadas."

"Don't go overboard," Danny teased. "You don't want to harden too many arteries."

Dismay crossed Steve's face, like joking of arteries hit too close to the bone. But then his face settled into what Danny had christened as Determined Mode, as if he'd made a resolution and come hell or high water, he was going to carry it out. "Danny, when you were dying, you said something to me."

Yes, he had, and he wanted to repeat it, and to have Steve repeat what Danny hoped he'd heard correctly. He wanted to talk about taking the next thrilling step from partners to lovers, but not in front of an audience. "Aren't you going to introduce me to the guy?" he interrupted Steve.

"What guy?" Steve asked, brow creasing in confusion.

"The guy." Danny vaguely waved toward the guy at the window. All the tubing connected to his arm moved with his flailing.

The guy at the window jerked, his head turning so he could stare at Danny and Steve.

"There's no one else in the room, Danny," Steve said cautiously.

"Of course there is. That guy by the window."

The guy lunged across the room, leaning over Danny, almost yelling in his face. "You can see me? You bastard, you can see me?"

"Of course I can see you. Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you? Why aren't you in Emergency?" Blood was splattered over the guy's shirt, presumably from the two holes in his chest. Danny wasn't sure how he was even walking, much less yelling.

"You can see me! How the hell can you see me?"

"Danny?" Steve sounded uncertain. "Are you okay? There's no one here but you and me."

"What do you mean there's no one here but you and me? There's this guy." He pointed at the blood-splattered guy. His accent was odd, maybe Irish? Real Irish and not fake Hollywood-Irish. But otherwise he looked like a pretty average guy, blue-eyed, brown-haired, close to six feet tall.

"Let me get a doctor." Steve sat the cup of ice chips down and abruptly left.

"You're McGarrett's partner and you can see me. I'm going to make your life hell. I can't hurt him, but I can make your life miserable. I knew there had to be some reason that I was kept on Earth."

Steve returned, practically dragging in a doctor, muttering that his partner was having hallucinations, as Danny was trying to wipe the spittle off his face. Danny stared at his hand, wondering how he could see the saliva spewing out of the guy's mouth, but couldn't feel it land on his face. Then he decided he still felt like crap and it was time to sleep some more.

~~~

So he could see ghosts. One ghost at least, but knowing how his life went, Danny was afraid Hesse would be the first of many. Danny thought just being brought back to life after dying was a sufficient blessing. He didn't need, nor appreciate, the extra boon of being in touch with the spiritual world.

He especially didn't like Anton Hesse, who ranted and yelled at him constantly. Or at least, every time Steve was around, as Hesse seemed to be tied to him. He and Steve had said words while he was dying, important words that he wanted to discuss further, but not with the presence of the vengeful terrorist. So he needed to either lose this ability or get rid of Hesse fast, because he hated Steve's puppy dog look every time Danny faked being tired, encouraging Steve to leave without their having a serious discussion.

Not that he had to fake a lot. Recovering from being shot in the gut and officially dying wasn't a walk in the park. At least his frustration at not being able to talk to Steve without Hesse's presence fueled his determination to be out of the hospital as soon as humanly possible. He was usually a horrible patient when sick, but Danny was exceptionally good this time, following the nurses' orders faithfully.

His visitors were limited, only one at a time and for no more than half an hour. He was grateful that no one other than Steve had vengeful ghosts hanging around, so he only had to deal with their mortal concerns. A heavily pregnant Rachel tried to hide her tears. Gracie didn't even try, throwing herself into his arms and crying silently in relief as he hugged her.

When Chin visited, Danny asked him about Hawaiian beliefs because what the heck, they were in Hawaii and maybe this was a Hawaiian thing. Except Hesse had died in South Korea, so that logic was shaky. And Chin got rolling on polytheistic and animistic beliefs and it was all very tiring to comprehend, and a little much for Danny to absorb, so he waved him off and took another nap.

He brought it up with Kono, but she'd already talked to Chin, so gave him a steady look and pressed him for the reason why he appeared to be having a spiritual crisis. He was irked at her insistence on questioning him, because he was strong enough to hear more about polytheism and animism but not yet to confess about Hesse.

Max brought a book about religion in Star Trek, which turned out to be reasonably interesting. It was written at maybe a high school level and so not too taxing for Danny to read in his weakened state. Unfortunately, Danny didn't think Klingon ceremonies were all that relevant to his problem, though he wouldn't have minded taking a bat'leth to Hesse.

Lori looked beautiful and very serious as she tried to psychologically dissect his sudden interest in religion. He'd encouraged Steve to be attracted to her because he'd thought Steve was straight, and he'd legitimately wanted his partner to be happy. That was all over now. If Steve loved Danny, then Danny was going to grab onto him and keep him. Lori would have to find some other incredibly hot, charming, dedicated, frustrating, complicated guy to keep her company. Danny was evasive for a few moments and then sent her away, pleading tiredness.

Joe brought him a Bible and tried to talk to him about making peace with God, which Danny found annoying. Just because he'd been Steve's mentor didn't mean he was Danny's father figure. Frankly, for all that Steve seemed to have a deep affection for him, Danny wasn't sure that he trusted the guy and he was ready for him to sashay on home.

Besides, the Trek book was far easier to read.

When he was allowed out of the hospital bed for a walk, he visited the hospital's small non-denominational chapel, got down on his knees, and prayed. His family had only been mildly religious, and between his dad's erratic schedule as a firefighter and five kids having their own friends and activities, Sunday church-going had never been a regular event, but he felt the need to touch base with the Big Guy.

He found himself grumbling a bit as he prayed, because if the big guy had scooped up Hesse's spirit back in Korea, Danny wouldn't be having this problem at all. In fact, Steve would have been curling up in Danny's hospital bed every single day, napping against him like Rachel had. Danny got off his knees then, figuring that the Big Guy probably didn't appreciate bitching while praying.

His trip to the chapel left him exhausted so he went back to his hospital bed and took another nap, once again pleasing the nurses with his dedication to resting.

~~~

On his next walk, he discovered the whole 'white light shining down' thing existed. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, but he did blink furiously a few times at the radiant disc. A beefy guy, with a face reddened by both the sun and the flush of blood, wearing a Hawaiian shirt featuring surfers, khaki shorts, and white socks with his sandals, wandered down the hall, looking dazed. His appearance screamed both 'tourist' and 'heart attack,' as he stood and stared at the light.

"I think you're supposed to go into it," Danny said quietly, though there wasn't anyone else in the hallway. He didn't want to get in the habit of talking out loud to ghosts.

"My family," the guy said. "We were going snorkeling tomorrow."

"Can you go back?" Danny suggested, because maybe it wasn't too late?

The guy shot a glance toward the doors leading to Emergency and back at the white light. "No. This is where I belong now." He walked forward, into the circle, and seemed to float upwards until he disappeared.

Great. So that was how it worked. Maybe if they were quick enough to a murder scene, he'd be able to ask the victim what happened, which would make his new skill useful. But how did he find a white light and make Hesse walk into it?

~~~

Steve was sitting by the bed again the next time Danny woke. "Hey," he said, his fingers lightly touching Danny's. "I hear you're getting stronger."

"You know me and hospitals. I might even be as bad as you. I want out of here yesterday."

Hesse leaned over the bed, his face close to Danny's. "Yes, get out of here so you can get back to work. It's going to be entertaining, following you around all day."

Hesse's venom made Danny flinch. He couldn't help the instinctive reaction. He was a wounded man, damnit. He was supposed to be receiving comfort and chocolates from his loved ones, not having to handle an obnoxious ghost.

Steve glanced at where Danny was looking. "Are you still seeing hallucinations, Danny?"

Deny the unbelievable. "You know the doctor said that was post-operative stress."

"He said post-operative stress could be a reason." Steve brushed his fingers over Danny's forehead. "It could be something else. You hit your head hard when you went down."

Danny could still hear Steve yelling, "Danny!" in a tormented voice as the first bullet slammed into his body. He allowed himself the luxury of curling his fingers around Steve's wrist, feeling the strength of Steve's arm and his pulse. He wanted to know this man as his lover so desperately, to kiss and touch him all over, to have Steve's body on top of him, pressing him into the sheets. His injured, medicated body was completely unresponsive to the thought of sex, but his brain and imagination were fully on board with everything that a future with Steve might entail. "I don't have a concussion. I'm fine, babe. Trust me."

"How can he trust you when you're lying your ass off? I've been there, all those long talks in the Camaro and on the beach. You're a lousy fucking liar. You'll never be able to pretend I'm not here."

"What do you want?" Danny snapped, creeped out by the thought of Hesse as a voyeur to their confidences, and scared that he was correct. Sure, Danny could put on a poker face for the duration of a game, but he couldn't ignore Hesse every single day. "What will it take to make you go away?"

"There's nothing you can give me to make me go away. I'm dead. My brother's dead. You can't give me my life back."

"Danny - "

"Steve." Danny snapped a hand sharply in front of Steve's face. "Just go, okay?"

His instruction wasn't obeyed immediately, but he shut his eyes and curled up in bed, finally hearing the scrape of a chair being pushed back a few minutes later and the sounds of Steve's boots walking out of the door.

~~~~

The hierarchy of the visiting schedule eventually worked down to Kamekona, who was the first, the only, person who made a tangible suggestion. Danny supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised. Cops were used to analyzing situations, understanding human motivations and interpreting data, but Kamekona was an entrepreneur. He believed in finding a practical solution, a product to fill a gap.

Not that Kamekona's appearance seemed to be helpful, as he offered a half-eaten shave ice cone. "It was starting to melt, brah, so I had to take the top off."

"Thanks," Danny said, gingerly sticking the cone in his empty water glass, deciding he'd toss it as soon as Kamekona left. He didn't need the other man's cooties.

"They say you been seeing bad spirits."

"Only around Steve," Danny admitted. "Anton Hesse." The truth was going to come out sooner or later if Danny couldn't get rid of Hesse, and he was starting to feel strong enough to discuss it.

"Bad spirits can haunt the person who killed them, even if the person is good."

"Steve doesn't even know he's there."

"But you can see him."

"See him, hear him... he's a jerk. A grade-A asshole."

Kamekono nodded sagely. "It's too bad you don't have an aumakua."

"An auma-what?"

"An aumakua, brah. It's a guardian spirit, a member of your family who has died and returned in a different form, like a shark or an owl, even a plant or an ocean wave. They have miraculous powers. They would protect you."

"St. Michael protects cops, but he doesn't vanquish bad spirits."

That earned him a frown, then a smile. "You need Hawaiian guardian spirits, brah. Hey, maybe McGarrett has guardians. He's a haole but two generations of his family are buried here. One of them could have come back."

"Yeah, thanks for the advice, but I don't think a shark will do me much good in the hospital."

"It's not just a shark, brah. It's a guardian spirit."

If Steve had a shark guardian spirit, then it was being slack on its job, because it should have chewed Hesse up like a tasty treat long ago during one of Steve's lengthy swims. Maybe St. Michael would take up the job, appearing with a burning sword of fire, and slice through Hesse, totally obliterating the ghost. Danny had never replaced his medallion after giving it to Kono, though he didn't think its presence would have stopped Hesse and the other ghosts from becoming visible to him.

But if Hesse was stuck here on Earth as a bad spirit, did that mean good spirits did exist? No one human could help Danny, but would someone inhuman? "Tell me more," he said to Kamekona, struggling to sit up.

~~~~

Meka's widow Amy was happy to pick him up when he called, arriving as he was waiting for his final discharge papers. She'd even brought the St. Michael medallion he'd given Meka. He hadn't told Steve he was being discharged, though he wouldn't be surprised if his partner knew, since he had been regularly badgering the doctor for updates. Or if Chin was getting reports from a cousin on the staff.

Sitting in Amy's car, being driven through the city, was disconcerting. Hesse might be the most irritating ghost in existence, but he wasn't the only one in town. An old man shuffled into traffic, not blinking as the car ran through him. It was fortunate that Danny's reactions were only fast enough to give a yell and flinch back, rather than grabbing the wheel from Amy and making the car swerve to avoid him.

After that incident, Danny focused on the car ahead of them, trying to not look at pedestrians.

Amy drove him to the grocery store and then dropped him at the cemetery. She argued against leaving him, but Danny convinced her he'd be fine calling a cab. With obvious reluctance, she finally drove off, leaving Danny to wander through the cemetery until he found Jack McGarrett's grave. He was glad to be alone, sure he was going to look idiotic, since he was flying by the seat of his pants. He put two white candles in candle holders, lit them, and set them on the upper corners of Jack's flat headstone. Then he opened a bottle of red wine, and a package of crackers, setting them and the St. Michael medallion between the candle sticks, as they seemed like appropriate nods to traditions.

Then macadamia nuts for some Hawaiian food and the flowers he'd picked up from the florist display in the grocery store. All native ones that he'd seen had been made into leis, though he wasn't sure he could name most of them. He would have liked to have picked some from the flowering plants around Steve's house, but if Steve had been around, that would have required awkward lying.

He knelt, rubbing on his bad knee, and prayed. To God, to the spirits that Chin had told him about, to guardian spirits, to anyone who would listen. He even included Kahless, figuring he might as well cover all his bases. He tried to not pray things like 'you got me in this mess, get me the hell out of it,' but he didn't entirely succeed.

"Danno. What are you doing?"

Danny managed to not sigh. He should have known Steve wouldn't stay away. Chin was probably tracking his phone through his GPS. Maybe the interruption was timely. He was beginning to feel a bit shaky from staying in one position so long. "I'm praying, Steven. It's not an uncommon thing for people who have survived a near-death experience." He held out a hand to Steve, who took it.

"To my dad?" Even as he asked the question, Steve helped Danny stand, holding onto his hand until Danny was stable on his feet.

Hesse laughed, a scornful sound, because of course he'd followed Steve. Didn't the ghost ever get tired? "He's desperate, boyo. He wants to get rid of me and he'll try anything." Leaning down, he shoved his face at Danny's. "This won't work. You're never going to be free of me."

"Danny. It's good to meet you."

Danny glanced away from Hesse, toward the new voice, recognizing Jack McGarrett from his pictures. His face was lined with age, but unmarked by the bullet that had sped through his brain. Next to him was a middle-aged woman who Danny again recognized from her pictures as Steve's mom, Jack's wife.

Another couple stood next to them, an elderly woman and a young man with a painfully short haircut. The two women were in nice dresses, while Jack wore his police uniform, which had probably been their burial garments, but the young man wore casual dungarees and a white t-shirt. It must have been his early morning Sunday attire. Steve's grandfather had gone down with his ship during the attack on Pearl Harbor, his body never recovered to be buried in his naval uniform.

"It's good to meet you too, sir," Danny said. Steve would think he was crazy, but he couldn't ignore these people because Steve was a control freak who wouldn't allow himself to be excluded. "Ma'am, ma'am, sir."

"Steve," the middle-aged woman said with yearning in her voice, as Danny racked his brain, trying to remember her name. "You grew up."

"You can be very proud of him, ma'am. He's an outstanding naval officer and heads the Governor's task force on crime."

She smiled sadly. "I'd be proud of him no matter what he did."

Jack rested his hand on his wife's shoulder. "You brought us to help him."

"I wish I could just agree, but to be honest, it's to help me more than him. He doesn't seem to notice his exceedingly unpleasant baggage."

Steve was rocking the Aneurysm Face, not at all happy about Danny's ongoing dialogue with the air.

"Spirits get stuck sometimes," Steve's grandmother said. "They miss the light and then they don't know what to do with themselves."

"So what?" Hesse sneered. "Are you going to show me the way to the white light?"

"Oh no, Hesse," Jack replied, sounding uncannily like his son at his most pissed-off. "Your light isn't white."

The four advanced on him, and Hesse was cocky enough to not run, only giving a cynical laugh as Jack and his dad each grabbed an arm, Steve's mom and grandmom holding onto his clothes. The four began dragging him and Danny gave a yelp of surprise as he looked in the direction they were moving to see a pit marring the green lawn. A pit lit by a red fire within it. Nasty, ugly snake creatures with no eyes and sharp fangs emerged from the fiery glow.

Hesse finally got alarmed and began struggling, yelling desperately to be freed, but the four held on, using all their strength, until Hesse was close enough to the pit that one of the snakes lunged out, snapping onto his shoulder. Hesse screamed as the fangs sunk in and the McGarretts backed away as another snake bit him, then a third and a fourth until Hesse was yanked off his feet and dragged down. The pit slammed shut, leaving no trace of its presence.

"Danny?" Steve asked, his tone shaky, his gazed fixed where Hesse had disappeared.

"Just a sec, babe." Danny reached out, instinctively trying to shake hands, to hug, to show his appreciation in a physical manner. But the McGarretts smiled at him fondly, keeping their distance, and Danny let his hands drop to his sides. "I know there's probably nothing I can offer you, but thank you. Believe me, thank you from the very bottom of my heart."

"Take care of our boy," Steve's mother said. "That's all we ask."

"Until the end of my life," Danny promised.

"This won't go away," Jack warned him. "You may encounter other hostile spirits. Call us if you need to but we may not be able to help you every time. Hesse was a special case."

"As long as they're not tied to Steve, I can deal."

The four walked away, each couple holding hands, their figures slowly fading until they vanished completely.

"Danny - "

"Yes, babe?"

"I thought I saw --" Steve faltered, like he couldn't believe the evidence of his own eyes.

"Your parents and grandparents?" Danny suggested, grateful that Steve had been allowed a glimpse of what Danny was seeing. He'd rather not have to argue Steve out of dragging him off to the funny farm.

"Shoving Anton Hesse into Hell."

"Seems like the McGarretts have been in Hawaii long enough to cultivate their own guardian spirits. Or maybe we all have guardian spirits and only the Hawaiians were smart enough to realize it. Honestly, all I care is that it worked."

"You've really been seeing Anton Hesse?"

"Yes, I really have, and I have to tell you, that was a ghost with anger management issues even worse than mine." Danny glanced around the graveyard. An old woman and a girl of Gracie's age were sitting on a plot, looking like they were playing tea, and Danny deliberately looked away. He was afraid he'd be doing that a lot, but as he said, if he had Steve, he could handle anything. And finally the time had arrived for him to find out if he did have Steve. "And others too."

"So that was the reason you wouldn't talk to me about what you said? What I said?"

Resting his hands on Steve's shoulders, Danny looked him square in the face, earnest and sincere, because he knew he'd confused the hell out of Steve with his unwillingness to discuss his confession, and he owed him complete honesty. "I love you, babe. I should have said it before I was dying, and if you want to hear it repeated, I will say it every single damn day of the rest of our lives. If I wasn't only a few hours out of the hospital, I'd take you home and show you how much I love you and want to share everything with you."

Steve's grin was brilliant as he cupped Danny's face. "I love you too, Danny. I love you."

Standing in the cemetery, they shared their first kiss, and if any ghosts watched them, Danny didn't check and didn't care.

~~~~

They held hands on the drive home, Steve using his left hand for the wheel, his and Danny's hands on the stick shift. Conversation was unnecessary, but they grinned at each other regularly, silly grins of glee and anticipation.

When they reached the house, Steve herded Danny upstairs, reverently and gently stripping him out of his clothes, before placing him on the crisp white sheets and kissing him all over, paying particular attention to the stitches where his body been sewn closed.

Danny reveled in Steve's attention, but cursed the fact that his body was too weak from his injury to cooperate. He stroked his hand through Steve's hair. "I want to watch you."

"Yeah?" Smiling almost shyly, Steve sat on his heels by Danny. He was so gorgeous, all naked, tanned skin, colorful tattoos, and strong muscles. "Like this?" he asked, fingering the length of his half-hard dick.

"I can't come, babe, but I want to see you. See how beautiful you are. See what I have to look forward to."

"Danno." Steve gave Danny what he wanted, masturbating for him, slowly and sensually, unabashedly putting on a show for his lover. His gaze never left Danny's, the openness and intensity of his eyes revealing how much he enjoyed having Danny watching him. His breath finally quickened and his pace increased, his hand almost a blur as his come shot out, spurting over Danny's stomach.

"You are so beautiful," Danny breathed before Steve brought their lips together, kissing him like they had a lifetime together to explore each other's mouths. "You gonna get a washcloth and clean me up?" he asked when Steve released him.

"I'll clean you up," Steve promised. He performed the act with his tongue, as Danny shivered and yearned for the day he'd be fully recovered.

~~~

After a nap, Steve and Danny cuddled together on the bed, idly stroking and exploring each other's bodies, appreciating the comfortable state of being together and relaxed. Danny described what seeing Hesse had been like, as well as the tourist and the other ghosts he'd noticed. Confessing everything to Steve was a relief.

"We should tell Chin and Kono too," Steve suggested. "They should be prepared if you see a spirit at a crime scene."

"Yeah. Won't that be great? Excuse me, Mr. Ghost, but could you please describe your murderer? We'd better be able to always find some hard evidence before making an arrest, because I'm not testifying in court based on a ghost's word. Oh, and Kamekona knows too," he added.

Steve responded with the Hurt Face. "You told Kamekona before you told me?"

Danny stroked Steve's face with his fingertips, wanting to ease the pain he'd inadvertently caused. "I was feeling stronger by the time I saw him, and Hesse wasn't there, yelling in my face. It just slipped out."

Hurt Face softened into Pouting Face. "As long as it doesn't happen again."

"It won't," Danny promised. "Well, except perhaps if I need his help for surprise birthday parties or a proposal. Then I might tell him something before I tell you, but nothing else."

And now Steve gave him Quizzical Face. "You think you're going to be the one to propose marriage?"

Danny smiled, envisioning the coming decades of cataloguing all of Steve's expressions. "If you think I won't be, babe, then you'd better get with it soon. I want a proper proposal, with a nice dinner and a ring and you in your dress whites on your bended knee."

"The proposer sets the conditions, Danno." Steve stroked Danny's side, slid his hand over his belly to his wound, covering it, like he kept needing to reassure himself that Danny was healing.

"We'll see who gets to it first then, won't we?"

"Yeah, we will," Steve said, grinning, and Danny laughed, joyfully, happily. Sure, he had this weird ghost-seeing ability that promised to be mostly a pain in his butt, but he was alive to watch Gracie grow up, and to spend his days and nights with Steve, his crazy, adorable, competitive partner, who would always be a challenge and a delight to live with and love.

Life was good.

  
~ the end ~


End file.
